THE WEBLOG OF GRAPHIC DESIGN CERT 4 STUDENTS AT KINGSCLIFF DESIGN TAFE NSW 2008.
WE ARE INVESTIGATING THE NATURE OF PROFESSIONAL DESIGN PRACTICE FOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS IN 2008 AND WILL BE POSTING INFORMATION AND RESEARCH WE HAVE FOUND ON THE TOPIC.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Stefan Sagmeister - Govinda

Stephan Sagmeister is an Austrian born, influential and prominent graphic designer working out of New York. His work has ranged from sleek perfume bottles to Rolling Stones CD covers and fashion brochures. He plays with surprise and sensationalism in his work, earning him a string of iconic designs.Sagmeister once said in an interview that “for a long time, we prided ourselves not to have a style which to uphold.” He had a sign hanging in his studio stating that style = fart and consciously avoided any stylistic traps. I found this concept of not falling into a particular style as a designer to be very interesting. Although this idea would allow for a great variety of work and interest from a range of clients, as Sagmeister would later realize, it is almost impossible to uphold in the real world. If you “switch your stylistic approach from project to project, it is impossible to come up with a new one on a weekly or monthly basis, without ripping-off either historical styles or a particular designers’ style.” Avoiding a particular style may also result in clients not knowing what to expect from your designs and therefore going to a more stable company instead.

Over time, Sagmeister gave up this theory that style is just hot air and meaningless and settled on the fact that good and sometimes even trendy style do play an important role in delivering content to the viewer. Sagmeister has a strong personal style that is evident in his work, although his designs vary greatly.